This invention relates to coin operated article dispensing mechanisms, particularly to those used in gumball banks and the like.
Coin operated gumball dispensers have proven to be popular items when adapted for home use. In the home the gumball machines serve as banks; the coins collected by the machine are kept in a coin receptacle until the receptacle is opened and the coins are retrieved. One such gumball bank is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,314 to Rosenberg and Keces.
Many of the characteristics of commercial coin-operated vending machines, such as security against tampering, vandalism and theft are unnecessary in home gumball banks. Rather, home gumball banks require ease of disassembly, simple operation and low cost.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a coin operated article dispensing mechanism that is inexpensive to manufacture, and simple and reliable in use.